Georgian PM accuses European Parliament of ignoring human rights and backing return of United National Movement party to power

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday accused the European Parliament of prioritising the return of the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party to power rather than defending human rights.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze said law enforcement agencies had already responded to incidents involving violence where clear signs of criminal offences had been identified.

“There were several cases involving violence, and where there were clear signs of criminal offences, law enforcement agencies responded about a month ago. As for the other side, they are also demanding that violent offenders be released. More than 500 people engaged in violence on a daily basis, and only 30 individuals were detained. They want a different approach here as well”, he said.

According to the Prime Minister, the real objective of critics was to weaken the Georgian state and its institutions.

“Everyone knows very well that these people do not care about human rights. Between 2004 and 2012, the European Parliament justified the torture of people and the rape of individuals both inside and outside prisons. Human rights do not interest these people at all. The only thing that interests them today is somehow bringing those same torturers from the UNM back to power. We will have an appropriate response to this attempt”, Kobakhidze said.

He added that it was up to the European Parliament to reconsider what he described as its “Soviet-style approaches”.

“It is the European Parliament’s responsibility to revise its Soviet-style approaches. If it does so, relations can be restored and returned to the proper framework”, the PM concluded.